“To bury the hatchet” means to make peace, but the phrase has deep roots in Native American tradition. Among Eastern Woodland tribes like the Iroquois, the hatchet (or tomahawk) symbolized war. When peace was made, tribes would literally bury their weapons to show an end to conflict.

The Iroquois Confederacy famously buried weapons beneath the Tree of Peace—a powerful act of unity. European settlers took note, and by the early 1700s, the phrase was used in treaty negotiations and soon became a lasting metaphor for reconciliation.